Nowhere to Hide
by superwholockedrem
Summary: The prophecy was wrong from the beginning. Now, Merlin and Arthur have to pay the consequences as the Prince of Camelot and the Sorcerer Prince of Essetir. First, Merlin gets chased out of his castle and lands, and Arthur is STILL a prat even though he has kind of love he had never known in the other universe! Slight Merlin!Whump and bromance between everyone at some point. Enjoy!
1. Devastation

So. I still don't own Merlin. I have never owned Merlin. I probably WILL never own Merlin. That's all I have to say about that.

* * *

Magic.

In one kingdom, the very word angered millions in the kingdom of Camelot. Inside of the walls, it was used as both it's best and it's worst ways. It lived in it's purest and most corrupt forms.

Balinor. Nimue. Morgana. Uther. Merlin. Morgause. Igraine. Hunith. The druids. Mordred. Arthur. These people all had influence over a prophecy that had been told from the beginning of time. Their deaths had already been woven by the Fates several hundreds of years before these people were even concepts in their parents' minds.

But what if the first decision that had sparked off this series of events had been changed? What if a woman destined for evil did the right thing instead of causing the deaths of thousands of innocents? What if the first decision in the prophecy written thousands of years before had changed because of one woman and her kindness?

Nimue saw what she was supposed to do. She knew that to give Igraine and Uther the child that they had always wanted, the heir to the throne of Camelot, a life must be given in return. She knew that this child would be the Once and Future king, with his most trusted adviser, Emrys. She knew that Igraine should be the one to die, sparking a rage in Uther that had never been seen before. She knew that all of these events _should_ happen.

But the High Priestess of the Old Religion would not accept her part in the prophecy. She would _not_ be the one to kill her best friend. _She_ was in control of the cup of life. Instead of Igraine's death being the starting of a new era, one of pain and destruction, her life would spare so many people the harshness of her grieving husband. Oh yes, she would give her friends the child that they wanted, but at the price of something...less important to them.

* * *

Prince Arthur Pendragon was born on the starting of a new month. Igraine was so tired that she fell asleep almost instantly, exhaustion taking its' toll. Uther picked up the baby boy and smiled proudly at the child. The baby grabbed his fathers nose and giggled and the king, looking extremely confused and awkward, put the child back into the midwife's arm.

"Nimue!" Uther called to the sorceress, who was trying to slip out of the door without the happy couple noticing. "Would you like to hold him?"

She paused, fear glistening in her eyes for a moment before walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Igraine. The midwife smiled at the sorceress, who smiled unsurely back before awkwardly taking the baby. The instant that he laid in her arms, the little boy smiled happily and snuggled into her touch. Nimue's face lit up as she slightly bounced the child in her arms, sining soothing druid lullabies to him as his quiet giggles turned into the soft breathing and gurgling of a sleeping child. Even after he fell asleep, the court sorceress sighed and smiled at the boy, humming softly to him.

"What will his name be?" She asked the queen, a beautiful smile gracing her face.

"Arthur." The queen whispered as she fell asleep, just like her son.

"Well, Arthur," she addressed the sleepy child, "I'm sure you will make a great prince and king."

"All thanks to you." Uther kissed the top of her head in gratitude.

"Yes. Now, I do believe I better get going. I have an appointment with a friend, later."

The king waved his hand. "Of course."

The sorceress reluctantly gave the baby back to the midwife and swiftly exited the room.

"See you tomorrow, Court Sorceress!" He called to her. "My friend!"

Nimue paused in the doorway, her body tense as she gripped the edges of the door.

"Good night, sire. See you, tomorrow." She said over her shoulder without looking back at the occupants of the room. She couldn't be the executioner of her friends, not even for the famous druid prophecy and would rather pay the price than have to go insane. So, that was what she did.

The next day, Nimue was found cold and dead in her chambers, tears still wet on the pillows, fear still shining in her eyes.

* * *

_**TWENTY YEARS LATER**_

**CAMELOT**

"Arthur!" Igraine called to her son, her hands on her hips, marching towards him, angrily.

"Yes, mum?" He asked, turning away from his point of amusement. She had a long wooden stick in her hand which she had picked up as soon as she saw limbs flying as her son stood by and watched, laughing. She slapped him soundly across the face and got into the fight, whacking his friends away from their victim.

"What! Do! You! Think! You're! DOING!" She accentuated each word with a blow that knocked each friend, one by one, away from the boy who was huddled pathetically on the cobblestones. The queen recognized the boy as the Court Physicians' apprentice. "Standing on the side and watching an innocent getting beaten senseless by YOUR OWN FRIENDS?! What kind of cruel joke is that?!" The furious woman shook her head so fast that her dangling earrings hit her strong jawline. "You think that's strength, but you're wrong." She cradled the injured, unconscious boy in her arms and began to carry him inside as the prince stood on the side in shock. "Sometimes, I wonder if you were worth my best friends' life. You have disappointed me, my boy." And with that cold, stinging note, she carried the boy and disappeared inside the walls of the castle.

The prince was still frozen. He could understand if his father had said it to him because it was nothing new that that was the way the king felt about his son, but _his own_ _mother? _She had always been who he ran to after his fathers' beatings, but his mothers words cut deeper than any cut his father could inflict upon him. The stung more than any of his fathers slaps. He was just having fun! How was that wrong?

Arthur put his hand to the place where the queen had struck him, and tears began to prick the backs of his eyes. He bit his lip to stop himself from whimpering as her bolted inside to his chambers, where he locked the door from the inside and felt to the ground, holding back sobs which echoed around his seemingly empty chest cavity.

He tried to think positively. What he had done wasn't so bad that his mother would never forgive him, right?

Right?!

* * *

**ESSETIR**

Prince Merlin of Essetir ran through the castle, his famous neckerchief covering his nose and mouth, his ripped cloak trailing behind him. The ground under him shook and he stumbled into a wall before resuming his sprinting. His eyes streamed with the tears that kept on trying to rid his eyes of the putrid stuff. He had to defend the throne room at all costs. His mother and father, the king and queen, needed protection.

He got to the end of the hallway and took a sharp right turn, attempting to make his way to the throne room, but there was too much smoke. He coughed and grabbed his chest in pain, only to stumble back into the wall and crack his head so hard that his ears were ringing. When he fell down, he felt fire lick at his arm and he screamed. Warmth instantly crept up behind his eyes as power flowed from him and extinguished the flames with a flash of his eyes. The boy grabbed his arm in pain, groaning in agony. Something trickled down his face and onto his neck, and he had a horrible feeling he knew what it was. The prince stumbled out into the courtyard, his eyes stinging and his lungs filling with smoke. With a cry, he began to run clumsily towards the door which led directly to the throne room, but smoke poured out from around the cracks and billowed out into the open air. When he pressed his back to the door to try to open it, the metal door-knocker burned his back, but he jumped away before it could do any serious damage. He stumbled into the center of the court yard and could see hoards of people streaming out of the back exit, which was just a few meters away from him.

"MERLIN!" A familiar voice called to him. He whipped his head around, trying to find the source of the sound.

"WILL!" His voice cracked as he screamed his friends name. The fleet-footed servant barreled out of the smoke and threw the prince over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"We have to get out of here!" Will told Merlin as he struggled and protested against the other boy. The prince could see Lancelot (The brave, loyal and kind knight), Percival (The silent giant knight), and Gwaine (The drunken, yet charming and loyal knight) trailing behind them.

"It's your mum and dad's orders I'm following. Take it up with them if you object."

"NO! GET OFF!" He squirmed and screamed, kicking and punching his servant. "UNHAND ME, PEASANT!" Merlin spat as he pounded on Will's back with his fists. The servant boy flinched at the derogatory term, but his grip only grew tighter. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO PROTECT MY PARENTS!"

"Shut up, Merlin," warned Lancelot, gripping his sword so hard that his knuckles shone white, "or I'll have to knock you out. You have no right to talk to people like that, even when you're unhappy."

"I don't care." He growled his throat raw and scratchy. "You can't DO THIS TO ME! I'm the PRINCE!"

"Please, sire, calm down." Will's eyes filled with tears as his friend finally stopped struggling in his arms.

Merlin watched as smoke curled away from the castle. His home was gone. He remembered the faces of all of his friends and family, and prayed that they were relatively unharmed. That they had gotten out alive.

A terrifying scream rang out of the smoke, half animal and half girl. He saw a large cat-like shape fall out of the air and he froze in shock before kicking Will in the gut and falling off of his shoulder. The prince tried to crawl away from the small crowd, tears falling down his cheeks.

"FREYA!" He screamed in anguish, pain filling his chest. His hand shot out, as if trying to catch her, but it was too late. He knew she was gone. "No." He whispered, trying to talk through the gigantic lump that had formed in his throat.

Then, he could feel nothing. He watched from afar as the family flag of Cenred was flown above Essetir for the first time in decades. His friends dragged him onto his feet and he walked with them with the feeling that a hole was just torn out of his chest.

"We need to get to Camelot." Gwaine said with a hollow voice, "It's our only hope of survival. The other kingdoms are months away. Uther's kingdom is only a few weeks of hard, non-stop walking."

Lancelot held his head high, his shoulders square, and his back straight. "The last of the Ambrosious' must be kept alive at all costs. If that means walking to Camelot, well, so be it." He bowed at Merlin's feet. "I will protect you with every last breath in my body."

The boy prince just walked passed his old friend, which made Lancelot's speech just sound kind of tacky. His eyes were empty and tired as if he was already dead. Will nodded at the knight, grateful for his support of his friend. Gwaine unscrewed his flask and took a long drink. Essetir was the first place where he had felt he had belonged. He had so many friends, but now they were gone. All he wanted to do was lie down and die next to them, but the prince was still alive and he needed help. Fast.

"There's nothing like ale to clear the mind." He laughed quietly to himself as he felt he amber liquid burn his throat.

Will trudged along beside his master, watching for any signs of awareness or recognition in those cold, dead eyes that used to be so happy, so full of life. There was none.  
They walked on through the days and nights, through forests and fields, through swamps and grasslands, never stopping for a break. The whole time, the five friends remained silent for the rest of the long walk to Camelot.

* * *

"Boring, isn't it?" Tristan turned to his friend, who sat against the stone wall, his legs to his chest, his arms draped over his knees. "During a battle it gets pretty intense, but now there's nothing to do except make sure the people aren't going to kill others. If they have a sword that was not bought inside of the city, we report them. Over and over again. It's so boring." The guard smiled at a pretty woman, his eyes wandering a bit lower as she passed by. "Except for the women."

Tristan sighed. "You say the same thing every day, Ganymede. Why don't you just quit?"

The other guard held up his hand, rubbing his forefinger, middle finger, and thumb together.

"Money." He drew out the word as if Tristan was an idiot. The younger guard threw a well aimed stone at Ganymede's head. It bounced off with a nice thunk, like someone stomping on a table.

"Ow!"

They laughed and Tristan let his gaze wander to the horizon. The sun was setting, and the sky was painted with blue, red, gold, and black.

"Someday, I'm going to be out there. I'm going to be a knight one day, and do the most extraordinary things."

"Riiiiight..." Ganymede laughed at his friend. Tristan only rolled his eyes, turning back to the setting sun. Five black figures emerged from the forest and stumbled onto the hill in front of him, a few meters away. Three of them were dressed in knights armor, except unlike Camelot, their torn and sweaty shirts were a deep, royal blue. The largest knight and the long haired knight were helping a man dressed in a slightly less impressive garb, like a better versions of a servants clothes. The boy in front wore royal blue, a golden circlet placed carefully on top of his dark hair and was stumbling and shaking. Finally, he collapsed, but the other knight caught the boy before he hit the ground. They all looked exhausted, filthy, and starving, yet the knight carried the boy in his arms.

Then, he saw the guards and his eyes filled with hope.

"Help us!" he cried.

The young guard's mouth dropped open.

"Wh-What the-"

"The prince of Essetir!" Tristan cried as he bolted over to help them. He helped the knight carry the prince as Ganymede helped carry the servant.

"We need a physician, and quickly!" The knight helped Tristan put one of the prince's arms over his shoulder and balance the weight between them. The boy prince groaned in pain as they put the weight on his shoulders. The guard could see a huge burn which wound up his arm and wrapped around his bicep. Beads of sweat lined his pale face as his breaths came shakily in and out of his chest, making wheezing sounds as they passed though his throat, more severe than any of the knights quiet wheezing. "The prince is fading. He was injured before we started the journey. I think they might get infected if they haven't already."

"But you're hurt, too, sir knight. You need to get that leg wound treated. You need help!"

"I only got mine a few days ago. It's healing nicely, I think, but the prince's burns or head wound haven't healed in two weeks. I'm sir Lancelot, by the way."

"I'm Tristan."

"Nice to meet you."

"Just let me direct you guys to the physician's quarters, then I'll run and tell the king and queen you're here." But Gaius will insist on treating your wounds, so secretly, I'll be helping you as well.

Sir Lancelot nodded. "Of course."

He let Tristan drag him into the castle and hoped with all of his heart that they were ready for the prince.

* * *

_Hey again! I'm BAAAAAACK with another fic. I just miss Merlin so much, the fics make themselves. They practically BEG to get on the pages. It's not MY fault if this project runs over into school time, so don't blame me. I just really love writing the characters and the scenes and... IT'S STILL NOT MY FAULT! So, I know this chapter is lacking in Morgana and Gwen, but I think I got the major knights in. If I missed anybody, feel free to tell me!_

_So, I know I wrote a pretty whumpy fic last time, and I know some of you guys are thinking, "Really, REM?! ANOTHER Merlin whump?! Didn't we have enough in PoD?" Well, sorry. I didn't have enough. I don't know what it is with Merlin, but somehow, his character seems like he's just ASKING to get hurt! It may be because of his seemingly childish innocence. Or maybe he just didn't get hurt enough during the show. Am I right or am I right? ;)_

_Anyway, this fic might not be updated every week. Most likely, it's gonna end up being updated every MONTH, because SCHOOL IS HELL. I'll be extremely busy with my new classes and all of my other crap. I hope you can forgive me. _

_Tell me if I've improved, or if I'm still crap. Please don't keep it to yourself! I love helpful criticisms. Plus, the review button will start growling at you if you don't click it. It's kinda lonely._

_Thanks for reading!_

_REM_


	2. Licking Your Wounds

_No owning Merlin for me!_

* * *

Gaius was having a rough day. Some of the knights had decided to beat up his assistant, Damian, for their entertainment, so he was already down one worker and up a patient. Luckily, the Queen had caught and reprimanded them before they could do extreme or lasting damage to the boy, but the child's life was hard enough already, being an orphan adopted by a not-so-wealthy family in the slums, yet, for him, anything was better than his time on the streets. His assistant was still unconscious from the pain, and hopefully would be for a while. Waking up to the pain that he would wake up to is not fun for anyone. PERIOD.

At first, Gaius had fixed the broken left arm, put it in a splint, and strapped it to his chest. It needed to stay immobile to heal properly, and the only way for it to be that way was to make it impossible for Damian to move. He had known the kid for a few years now, so he knew that the boy would move it unless he physically _couldn't_. As soon as Damian's adopted sorcerer brother and best friend, Gili, had heard about the incident, he ran to Gaius's chambers, and there he stayed until his brother could walk out with him. Gili had tried helping out by putting a spell on Damian that would help ease his pain, even if it only worked a little bit. He had helped the old man apply the ointments to his best friend's bruises and cuts. The two boys were always together. If you saw Damian walk through the door, his long, brown shaggy hair going in every direction, including into his eyes, the other short brown haired boy would be right behind. Most of the time, they kept each other out of trouble by being able to intimidate the lesser bullies, but when it came up to the knights, it took Gili's magic to scare those big fish off, so naturally, Gili blamed himself for not being there to help.

"If I was there," he whispered to himself, "I would have been able to stop them!"

Gaius, overhearing this lament, glanced up at the boy. "Maybe," he shrugged, then he leaned slightly forward, his long, white hair swinging, "or maybe I'd have another patient."

Gili glared at the physician as the old man slathered a few more bruises with his ointments, but he knew that Gaius was right. His eyes fell on Damian's form and his expression instantly turned concerned. His friend was squirming and groaning uncomfortably. He hoped that wasn't a sign of consciousness.

'No, Damian.' Gili pressed the palm of his hand firmly on his brother's forehead, "**Gysgu'n dda ac yn ddwfn****.**" Damian's body instantly relaxed as he fell back into a deep sleep, and Gili sighed with relief. "You need to rest." The boy grabbed a chair and sat next to his sleeping friend. "Gaius, just tell me if you need help with something. I'll fill in for Damian today."

"Thank you, my boy." Gaius's voice was soft and kind as he walked back over to the table, grabbing the mortar and pestle from the other tabled and clunking it down on the one next to the sick cot, getting ready to blend some herbs.

That was why, when the door flung open and seven people piled into the small room, Gaius just sighed, not looking up from his potion. That was _just_ the kind of day he was having.

"If you could just wait outside for a moment, please." He said, anger seething through the cracks of his clenched teeth 'I already have several patients and it isn't even lunchtime yet' he thought unhappily to himself.

"Gaius..." Gili gasped, his eyes wide in shock. Anything that made that boy look away from his injured friend must have been something to see, so Gaius put his hands to his sides, one hand still holding the pestle, and sighed again.

"What?" Irritated, Gaius looked upward to his new patients.

His hands went limp with shock.

The pestle fell to the floor with a dull thump.

There was complete silence, besides the loud wheezing coming from the black haired Prince, for about a full minute.

Tristan shifted awkwardly. "Court Physician, the Prince of Essetir is injured as well as a few of his knights! Please come quickly. A chamber has been made ready for him and we will find some room for the knights to stay.

"The- The prince of Essetir!" The old man stammered, shock evident in his voice. "Queen Hunith and King Balinor's son, and my nephew!"

"Oh."

"Have you told the king, Tristan?"

"Well," the guard shifted awkwardly under the physicians' sharp gaze. "I haven't had the chance to, but I will as soon as I can!" The boy flicked his head towards the opened door. "The room next to Prince Arthur's is unoccupied. It has been kept clean and ready, just in case. C'mon, we have to move!"

Gaius nodded and trudged after them. The two guards took the five Essetirans to the guest chambers, ignoring the strange sobbing coming from the Prince's chambers, and laid the Sorcerer Prince on the bed. His wheezing had gotten worse from just the trip around the castle, and his burns looked puffy.

The knight that had been helping Tristan carry the prince sat down on the floor and groaned.

"We've been walking for two weeks with very few stops. Prince Merlin kept on walking and walking until, finally, every four days, he would collapse. We, of course, made sure that he was eating and drinking." He took off his shoes and sighed in relief. Blood covered the bottoms of his blistered, red feet, even though they were wrapped with a long white bandage. The other two knights had fallen asleep on the floor next to the awakened knight, who was fighting against unconsciousness, himself. "We could hardly keep up. It seemed as though nothing mattered to him after the attack." He sighed, his body relaxing against the cool stone of the wall. "The castle of Essetir has fallen. The king and queen...are missing. Hopefully they were smuggled out during the heat of the battle. Until they are found, Merlin must be kept safe. We'll... stay with the prince I guess until you find us room." The knights words began slurring together and soon, he was passed out next to his friends.

"Lancelot!" Tristan shook his shoulder, but it only made his head loll around. "Hey, Lancelot!"

"Don't wake him." Gaius walked over to the bed. Next to the prince sat a boy in Essetir servants clothes. His head rested on his arm, which was sprawled out towards his master, the prince. The steady rise and fall of his chest told the physician all he needed to know about the boys state of consciousness, and Gaius brushed back the wet hair from the princes forehead. His eyebrows scrunched together when he felt how warm his skin was, and he called for Tristan to bring the maidservant, Gwen with a cool, wet towel.

"But," Tristan's eyes flicked to the knight, "what about Gili, sir?"

The old man shook his head. "Gili needs to stay by his brother's side. Damian needs him more than I do. He needs someone who he can look at and take comfort in that face when he wakes up. The pain'll be pretty extreme."

"What..." Tristan bit his lip hesitantly, "What happened to him? Was it Prince Arthur's friends again?"

"Yes."

"You remember what happened last time, right? Do you think it'll be worse?"

Gaius did remember, although he had tried to forget. After Damian was practically ripped to shreds by the prince's friends, for a week afterward, Arthur wasn't allowed anywhere near the poor boy. When he was finally let in to apologize and entered the room to do so with his friends backing him up, the physician's apprentice's scrambled out of his bed with a yelp with his limbs flailing, ran into his room, and locked himself in the tiny chambers for the rest of the day. With lots of slow exposure, he was able to stand the prince and his friends for a few minutes of talking without triggering his fight-or-flight response, so the prince would purposely hold him up and talk to him for the sole purpose of seeing Damian's terrified expression. The only time when it didn't work was when Gili was with him. Gili was the only one who was able to help him through the panic attacks.

The old physician shook his head, sighing. "Hopefully not, or I'm afraid that boy will leave Camelot to stay away from the Prince and his gaggle of idiots."

With a sigh, Tristan nodded and left to go get Gwen.

* * *

Later that evening as Gwen slowly wiped the Prince of Essetir's burning forehead with a cool towel, the servant sleeping on the other side of the bed began to wake up. He sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. A yawn erupted from his opened mouth and he blinked his tired, sunken eyes in confusion before realizing where he was.

"Camelot, right?" He asked the woman sitting across from him. "I'm in Camelot?"

The woman nodded. "Of course! Where did you think you were?!"

With a sigh, he rubbed his face wearily and sighed, looking even more tired than before. "So everything was true." The servant bit his lip, trying to blink away the tears. Looking closely at his sleeping master, he brushed the hair away from the prince's forehead. "How is he? How long has he been out?"

With a shrug, Gwen turned back to the Prince. "He's only been here for a few hours, but I think his wounds might be infected. Why do you care about him? He's your master. If he dies, you're free."

The boy snorted. "I'm not his slave. I'm his servant. I get paid." He rubbed his arms, eyebrows scrunching together. "Plus, Merlin's my friend." He held out his hand. "I'm William. My friends call me Will."

Gwen smiled, hesitantly shaking his hand. "I'm Guinevere. My friend's call me Gwen."

Will smiled and looked at her, thoroughly. "I'm glad my friends life is in such good hands."

The maidservant giggled, blushing furiously. "Well, I'm just filling in for the physician. He wrapped up the Prince's burns and stitched the Prince's head injury, as well as wrapping the knights and your feet. His name is Gaius. Right now, he's tending to another patient. If you'd like to meet him, I could get a guard to escort you to his chambers?"

"Well," Will shifted uncomfortably and turned his worried gaze on the Prince, Merlin, "if he wakes up, or shows any signs of waking up, you'll come and get me, right?"

Gwen nodded. "Or I'll send someone else for you."

The boy bit his lip again and rubbed his hands together, slowly trying to get up, his face twisting in pain before Gwen pushed him gently back into the chair that he had been sleeping in."Just sit down. The guard'll help you-"

"I don't need help." Will snapped, his ears turning bright red at the obvious lie. "I'm fine."

"Alright, but I haven't even called for the guard, yet! Just wait for a minute and take over this thing for me?" She handed him the wet rag and Prince Merlin moaned in discomfort, squirming under the blankets. The two servants looked at him, thoroughly shocked at his increase in movement. "He looks like he's getting worse, but he needs to ride this one out. We can only treat the symptoms. Ganymede!" She called and a guard burst through the door, his hand on the handle of his sword.

"What is it, Gwen?" He demanded, looking frantically around the room.

"Well, Will here would like to see our physician's chambers. Will you please escort him?" The tension in the guard's body relaxed as he looked at the manservant, but it was instantly followed by an expression of annoyance.

"That's it?" He sounded kind of disappointed that there was nothing more important to do before he looked again at the servant. "Wait a second," he said, "You're the other Prince's servant, right?"

"Umm." Will's eyebrow disappeared into his hairline. "I guess?"

The guard's ridged body tension returned with his look of dutifulness and determination. "You are to see the king once you wake up."

Will crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, his jawline as tense as Ganymede's posture. "It doesn't have to be immediately, right?"

The man shifted, uncomfortably. "I guess not."

"Then, take me to the Court Physician, Gaius. I need some medication."

"Uh. Okay." The guard opened the door for Will, and the servant limped out into the hallway, cursing every step along the way.

* * *

By the time they reached Gaius's chambers, Will was heavily leaning on Ganymede for support, sweat making his hair and shirt soaking wet. The older man, Ganymede, knocked loudly on the door. Cries and whimpers could be heard and Will bit his lip, hoping they hadn't gone to a kind of torture chamber instead. What if the King thought they were spies, and was going to use him to get information about the other castle and their weak points? What if the King didn't believe that the castle was truly taken?

An old man popped his head out of the door, the sounds of sobbing getting louder as the door opened wider. "Hello? I'm a bit busy right now." He said, his voice, quiet, yet stern.

"Gaius, this is Prince Merlin's manservant, Will. He has come for some pain medications for the Prince, the Knights, and himself." Ganymede explained as Will tried to catch his breath. The walk had been extremely hard, and he was still recovering. For a second, he felt like he was going to pass out, but then he was pulled into the room by the guard, who sat him down on a bench next to a table filled with herbs and potions and all sorts of different things. There was a bed across the room with a boy with light brown hair about five years older than him sitting next to the writhing patient, who moaned and cried in discomfort. On the bed, the boy was the same age as the other one, sweat pouring down his neck and soaking the covers as well as his hair and shirt. It was obvious that he had been beaten pretty badly and his broken arm was very swollen, the cause of his discomfort. On the side of the bed, the boy mumbled a few words, then his eyes lit up with gold and the boy on the bed relaxed, still whimpering and shaking, but his writhing had ceased nearly completely.

"Mr. Gaius?" Will called to the old man.

"Just Gauis, Will." He turned to the boy, a small twinkle in his eyes.

"I would like to thank you for saving the Prince and helping us. We really needed it."

The old man smiled slightly. "No problem, my boy."

There was a slight pause in conversation.

"What happened to that boy?" Will jerked his head towards the cot.

With a sigh, Gaius sat across from Will and folder his hands in his lap. "That's my assistant. Some knights beat him for fun, but he was found by the queen. She rescued him and brought him here. You'll meet her soon." The physician pressed five bottles into Will's hands. "These are for the pain."

"Thank you so much, sir." He got up slowly from the bench, limping back towards Ganymede and allowed the guard to put his arm around his shoulders, effectively taking the weight off of Will's damaged feet. "I won't forget it."

"It's my job, my boy. I'll see you later."

* * *

The manservant sat back down beside his master and put his head on the bed. He had just gotten back from his brief meeting with the physician and so far, the city had been pretty good for him. Gwen was still dabbing the Prince's forehead with the cool, wet towel, but he looked nearly dead. His eyes were ringed with purple bruises and he was as pale as a porcelain doll. He was completely still. The only thing that kept will from mourning his master was the soft, constant rise and fall of his chest. This reassured Will that the Prince was still alive.

"I'm not sure if he's going to wake up." Gwen mumbled softly to the servant. Will's eyes filled with tears.

"He has to live. He's only fifteen, he CAN'T die. He's too young."

Gwen was silent. There was a long pause before the doors burst open, revealing a drunk, shirtless, happy looking Gwaine, an annoyed looking Lancelot, and, as always, a neutral looking Percival.

"Is 'e... not 'wake yet?" Gwaine stumbled around, his expression confused and annoyed. "Well, 'e miss..ed all the fun a'ready. Hiya, Will!" He waved clumsily at the servant who hesitantly waved back.

"Okay, Gwaine." Lancelot patted his friend on the back and sat him down on the floor. "Okay." He turned to the maidservant, a blush slightly rising to his cheeks as he caught her eye. "Sorry. He has a drinking problem. It's gotten worse since... well, you know. How is he?" Lancelot came over to the bed, and looked at the prince, his face scrunching with worry.

"Not so good." Gwen dipped the towel in the bowl filled with water before placing it back on his head. "Hopefully, he'll wake up soon."

A guard burst through the door and called loudly, "Where is the_ servant, _William?"

Will nodded, downing the potion that Gaius had given him in one gulp, gagging slightly at the horrible lingering taste.

"The king requires your presence immediately!" The guard ran over and grabbed the manservant's arm. Shoving him out of the door with way more force than necessary. The burning pain in his feet was so severe that he fell back to his hands and knees with a cry. This was all that was needed to sober Gwaine, and the guard found the knight's sword right below his chin in no time. Rage was practically pouring off of the drunk, his eyes hard and angry.

"_Never_ treat anyone of my friends like that again or I will cut your throat." His voice was low and so threatening that even his friends took a step back.

"Y-Y-Yes, sir knight." The guard's knees were practically clacking together. His face was pale and his eyes wide. When Gwaine dropped the sword back to his side and helped Will back to his feet, the guard ran out of the door as fast as he could while still leading the injured boy to the throne room.

The large oak doors opened, revealing a large number of silent nobles, their servant's lining the walls of the Great Hall. The ceiling was at least fifty feet above Will's head and he stared at the beautiful marble columns which held the structure together. Stained glass windows splashed yellow and red at the feet of the four main thrones at the head of the gigantic room. Seated in the thrones were the lady Morgana and Queen Igraine on one side, Prince Arthur and King Uther on the other. Gaius caught the boy's eye and nodded, trying to give the boy some support. Will walked up to the thrones, the guard pushing him slightly forward, and fell to his knees, his eyes pointed at the ground secretly thanking god that his legs didn't fail him earlier.

The King got up out of his throne and stood in front of Will, who trembled under the harsh gazes of the unhappy nobles. Uther knelt in front of him, looking the frightened boy straight in the eyes.

"You are William, the manservant of Prince Merlin?" The king asked softly, trying to calm the poor, shaking servant.

"Y-Yes, sire." He whispered, fear and astonishment clear in his eyes.

"Please tell the council everything you remember from the attack on Essetir."

* * *

_Hey! Surprise surprise! I'm back early this time! It's a miracle!  
So, I brought in a few more characters and hopefully, they weren't too OOC. I'm trying to make them seem as close to the characters in the show as I possibly can, even if it **is** an AU. Gwaine doesn't hate nobles because instead of Cenred ruling Essetir, it was Balinor. When his father died in battle, Gwaine's family was given money and nice home to stay in. Will was only in one episode as well as Gili, so I might be changing their personalities a bit more because they are just minor characters who become more major in this story. I'm actually not sure how much more of Tristan and Ganymede you'll see, but I think they will be more minor than Gili, Damian, and Will. Just an FYI, magic was never banned in Camelot, yet it's still feared.  
__Merlin will be waking up very soon, so I hope you don't get to annoyed that he's still unconscious in this chapter! The iconic scene of Merlin meeting Arthur is also coming up, yet because their ranks are so similar and magic **is** legal, it will be slightly different from what it was in the show. This will be my last summer update, so expect updates every month or two from now on. I'm going to be **quite** busy with other stuff this year, but I promise to write whenever I can.  
Please don't forget to review! Those reviews are what I live off of!  
The spell that Gilli does is in Welsh, but I used google translate, so it might be off! Supposedly, it means "Sleep soundly and deeply."  
_

_Review replies:  
mersan1231- Thank you so much! I hope you like this update, although I have to warn you, this one might be quite a lot longer than PoD, and somewhat stranger, but less intense.  
waszka098- Dziękujemy! Mam nadzieję, że ta aktualizacja jest do swoich standardów. Niestety, nie wiem, po polsku, więc jest to z google translate. Mam nadzieję, że to nieco zrozumiałe!  
_

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!  
See ya next time!  
__REM_


	3. The Lost Brother

_I don't own you know who. I MEANT MERLIN NOT VOLDEMORT I'M SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME!_

* * *

Uther stood back up and sat back in his throne, nodding at the nervous boy, attempting to give him some support.

"Please speak loud enough so that the council can hear." He gestured to the rest of the lords and Will nodded.

"Of course." When he opened his mouth, the words just came tumbling out. "I woke up at the normal time and got ready like a normal day. The only thing that was off at first was the slight smell of smoke. I was getting the princes' breakfast when I heard the bells. There was a second when everyone had frozen in shock before plates clattered to the ground and servant's ran to the aid of their masters. Of course, I ran and woke up my master, prince Merlin. At first, I attempted to get him out of the castle, but he wouldn't leave without his parents and friends, as well as princess Freya, whom he was betrothed to and loved without a doubt. He told me to get his closest circle of knights so that he only had to get the princess and his parents. I ran off and got the knights, or all of them that were left. Owen, Trevor, Ethan, Julian, Mark, Devan, and Harold had all died fighting Cenred's army." Will's voice cracked for a second when he named the deceased friends and for a moment, he was silent, gathering himself together before continuing. "Cenred is King Balinor's bastard brother on his fathers' side. The man has grown ruthless and cruel, but luckily, he doesn't have magic. He will not rest until his half brothers' head hangs outside of his window and Queen Hunith marries him.

"I got to the throne room before Merlin had, but the once great hall was already half caved in. The King and Queen were helping the knights search in the rubble for survivors and I could hear the screams of the injured knights from the other side of the room. I ran up to them and tried to help them dig the knights out," he held out his bandaged hands, "but the King and Queen told me to get the prince out by any means necessary. I told them that Merlin- I mean Prince Merlin- was looking for them now and that he wouldn't leave without them, but they insisted. King Balinor walked me to the door when the whole castle shook with the impact of another boulder from their trebuchet. The screams grew louder and I saw another part of the ceiling fall next to Queen Hunith. I think a piece might have hit her, but before I could see, the ceiling between the King and I fell and a piece hit my shoulder." With a shaking hand, Will pulled down his collar to reveal a almost healed jagged scar, his eyes wide in fear just from the memory. "I ran through the hallways trying to find my master. I nearly ran into a wall of fire. The smoke was getting so thick that I felt like I was choking. As I began to run the other way, I felt a hand grab my ankle and I screamed as I fell on my hands and knees. It..." The servant gulped, his heart pounding at the recollection, "It was Trevor. The ceiling had fallen on him and he was screaming for me to get the piece off of his legs, and his screams... awful... so loud... he just kept on screaming." Tears rolled down his face. "Next to him were the other knights, all slaughtered except Sir Lancelot, Sir Percival, and Sir Gwaine. The knights that were alive and relatively unharmed pulled me out of Sir Trevor's grasp and there was so much blood." He shook like a leaf in the wind. "So much blood... I didn't even know that the human body could bleed that much. Sir Julian was screaming for his mother and Sir Owen was crying. Sir Owen told me," Will gulped, hiccuping, "to check on his wife and child, to make sure that they were safe. I reassured him that I would, but I had passed their bodies on the floor. I told him that he would go to the best heavan where he could play with his son all day and his wife would be smiling at him and welcoming him home. He cared about his family the most and, he died with a smile on his face thinking that they were okay. But they weren't. They were DEAD!" He screamed and fell to his knees, sobbing and tearing at his hair. "My mother and sister are gone now, too, and I couldn't do anything to save her!" He took a deep breath to calm himself down enough to talk

"I ran to the court yard, the knights following close behind when I heard Prince Merlin scream my name. I yelled for him, then saw him through the thick smoke. I ran at him, picking him up and throwing his circlet into my bag. He argued, saying horrible things to me and I knew it was just the anger, but it still hurt like hell. Then, the prince saw his girlfriend, Freya, get shot and fall from the castle wall. Once the prince was back on his feet, he kept on walking until he collapsed from exhaustion. Only then could we treat his wounds, although we got him to eat as he walked with a lot of coaxing. For three weeks, we've been barely sleeping and eating and drinking as little as we could, but we were getting weak by the time we reached your castle, Camelot." Will fell to the ground and curled up, his wide, unseeing eyes pointing towards the thrones.

King Uther looked tired, his eyes sad. Prince Arthur looked horrified, amazed, and proud of the servant for keeping in together for as long as he did. Igraine looked as if she wanted to hug the boy, her eyebrows scrunched together with worry. Morgana looked shocked and horrified, her hands covering her pounding heart. For a second, there was silence as the council processed what the boy had said before one of the nobles gestured to the guard, Fredric, to pick up the boy and take him to Gaius's chambers. The old physician followed the guard out, then lead him to Prince Merlin's chambers.

Gaius dragged a large, fluffy rug next to Merlin's bed and made sure that when the boys woke up, they could be reassured by the others presence. He took a pillow which Merlin wasn't on and placed it under Wills head, telling the guard t go get a a sheet and a blanket to cover the servant. Fredric nodded and was back in a few minutes, his arms full of the sheet and blanket that the old man had asked for. After he tucked the covers up to the traumatized boys chin, he left, preparing himself to face whatever atrocities he had to face in his own chambers where his injured assistant slept, tired out from the panic attack that he had had earlier in the day in which he broke several empty beakers and flung a few of Gaius's belongings on the floor. Both patients had been wounded in different ways from different traumatic experiences and were almost scared beyond repair.

It was just his day, wasn't it?

* * *

Will woke up with a start, sweat pouring down his neck. The somehow opened curtains spat light out into the room even though he swore that he closed them every time he fell asleep. His sweaty hair made the pillow slightly soggy and he sat up, confused and disoriented, trying to remember when he had gotten back to Merlin's room, or when he had pulled the rug under him and gotten the blanket and sheet. His heart pounded so hard, he felt like it was going to explode from his chest. The last thing he remembered was stepping through the oaken doors and being terrified out of his mind that he had done something wrong. He tried to recall what had happened in the throne room, but the memories were all blank.

Sighing, he stood up and pushed the rug back where he had remembered it previously lying, folded the blanket and sheet, and dragged his normal chair from the dining table back over to the side of his master's bed. He plopped down in it and began talking to the prince, hoping that somewhere in his mind he could hear Will. He had done this for every day that Merlin had been unconscious in the forest and in Camelot, alike, and he put his hand in the prince's for comfort.

"Hey, Merlin. It's me, Will. You've been in Camelot for three days now, I think. It's a new day, bright and early, but the odd thing is that I can't understand what happened yesterday. I only remember the morning when I walked into the throne room, then..." the servant sighed, shrugging, "...nothing. I didn't feel achy when I woke up, just a small headache, so the only thing I could think of was if they battered me over the head. But I don't have a head wound, so if they did hit me in the head, it probably wouldn't actually give me a headache.

"I saw the royals. They where all sitting there like perfect little statues all in a row; Princess Morgana, Queen Igraine, King Uther, and Prince Arthur. you should have seen them. They looked larger than life, like the ones you see in books and legends! It was amazing. I wish I could remember if I had interacted with them." There was a light knock at the door, but when Will went to open it, he felt Merlin's hand squeeze his hand. He froze in shock, staring at his hand gripping his masters.

"Merlin!" He gasped, smiling so wide that it hurt until he saw a tear trickle out of the Prince's eye. "Merlin?"

"They're gone." Merlin whispered, tears falling out of the corners of his eyes, his lip trembling. "My parents, Owen, Trevor, Gwaine, Mark, Percival, Devan, Harold, Lancelot, Freya," his voice broke, but he kept on listing names, "Emily, Evan, Nathaniel, Janet, Kira, Hannah, Rebecca, Harry..." and on and on he went, recalling every person he remembered and had been friends with at some point, which was most of the kingdom. With every name, Will flinched as he remembered their faces and experiences that he had had with them. "They're all gone, aren't they?"

"No, sire," Will's eyes were filled with tears, "But most of them are gone and I can't guarantee the lives of others," he pushed back the tears, "but there _are_ a few, that I know for a fact, who are alive. Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot made it out in time."

Merlin looked up at his servant, tears pouring down his face. "Will," He cried, his voice husky, "I don't know how much more I can take."

"How much more of what?"

"Death and destruction. And war." He sobbed. "It's terrible."

Will held out his arms and Merlin launched himself into the hug, sobbing into Wills only good shirt. 'It doesn't matter.' He told himself. 'The shirt will dry, but his pain will never deplete.' The servant held his master for what seemed like forever, until the prince stopped crying.

"We're only boys, Will. We were babes in arms a just a few years ago, it seems. How can we live through all of these horrors and still live long, full lives?" He asked the servant, his eyes still red, his voice laden with sadness. He sounded lost, alone, unable to function. Will did the only thing he knew would help the prince. He listened and comforted him with soothing sounds, rubbing his back until he had completely calmed down. When the two boys looked up, the three knights stood at the end of the bed. Lancelot looked at the prince, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly opened in shock. Gwaine looked happy for seeing his friend awake and slightly drunk. Percival, as always, looked neutral.

"You're... You're back." Stammered Lancelot, the corners of his mouth twitching upward as he spoke.

"I told you so." Gwaine sashayed over to the Prince's side and put his hand on his shoulder. "I knew he would wake up, didn't I?" He looked at Percival, who nodded and rolled his eyes, yet was silent, per usual.

"Y-Yes. I'm still here." Merlin smiled slightly, looking absolutely tiny on the ginormous bed. "I don't know whether or not that's a good thing, but I'm still very much alive.

"Of course it's good!" Gwaine threw his head back and laughed. "Where else would I get all of the money I need at the tavern?"

"And who would keep us commoners as knights?" Lancelot said with a slight smile.

"And there is no one more worthy than you that I would gladly give my life for." Percival stepped forward, surprising the whole group.

Merlin sat back in his bed closing his eyes and sighing, his eyebrows scrunched with sorrow, but his posture looking slightly better. He was pale and thinner than he was before. Right now, he actually looked more like a starving peasant than a prince but when he was home (when he _had _a home to go to), with his cloak around his shoulders, that boy was a sight to behold.

His cobalt blue, bright, lively eyes were flecked with gold and with his blue cloak trailing behind him, he was still one of the kindest and bravest men anyone could ever meet. He was humble, yet his aura flickered with power which made most people drawn to the strong, gentle boy. No person was ever turned down by the prince no matter how poor and he didn't insist on anyone paying him even though most people wanted to. His brilliance and kindness had spread through the kingdom in a matter of weeks, and soon, people from all over Albion came to see the Prince. Will could see how much it drained him to go around performing minor miracles for everyone he met, yet he had never been happier in his life. Now, his people were dead and gone, and all he worked for had turned to dust, ashes, and blood in the streets. It was tearing him apart.

Will left Merlin with his knights for a few minutes to go and get some food for him. He brought a heavy plate laden with all of Merlin's favorite foods and watched as his Prince's face lit up as he caught sight of the tray. The servant placed the tray down on his masters' legs and sat back down in his chair. The knights were having a serious discussion on the side about some trivial things like drinking laws and Merlin was eating happily, stuffing everything he could into his mouth.

"Merlin?" Merlin looked at his servant, his cheeks puffed out with food. "You're going to get a stomachache." The prince stared unhappily at his servant (who was trying so hard not to laugh) as he chewed slowly and finally swallowed the whole mouthful. Will paused for a second, closing his eyes and scrunching his eyebrows together in concentration, his smile melting off of his face. "There was one name which I noticed that you had not mentioned." Merlin looked down at his lap, chewing another bite of food. "Your little brother. Mordred."

Merlin looked up in shock. For a minute, his now dull eyes developed their normal happy glow which faded as quickly as it had come making Will wonder if it was just his imagination. The prince swallowed his food, pushing the now empty tray off of his lap and on to the other side of the bed. "He's alive."

"What?!" Will stood up so fast that the chair fell over. "Are you sure?"

The raven haired boy nodded seriously. "He managed to contact me when I was asleep. He sounded panicked and he told me that he was coming this way with bad men. He was caught by someone. Bandits, thieves, possibly Cenred's army, it could be anyone! Luckily, if he comes here, I'll be able to protect him."

Just as Will opened his mouth, King Uther and Prince Arthur came barreling through the doors, Princess Morgana close behind.

"Prince Merlin of Essetir. I've heard so much about you through my letters to your father and your magical abilities are legendary." Will got up and slunk into the shadows as the King sat down in the chair that he had previously occupied. "Igraine will meet you in a few days. Right now, she is helping Gaius, the court physician, with his medical practices. I thought that you would be here with your younger brother, but don't worry. We'll find him if he's still out there."

"No, please, sire!" Merlin sat straight up in bed, his eyes wide and insistent. "He can only speak with other sorcerers or warlocks. He will only speak through telepathy and no one has ever known why. He's panicked right now because someone caught him in the woods. He described them as 'bad men' but _they are coming to Camelot!_ You won't be able to find him. If they want to keep hidden, they'll use his magic to cloak themselves." Merlin got up shakily out of bed with Uther helping him. "Let him come to us. It's the easiest way. That way they won't hurt him, sire." Even though Merlin was weak and still in his bed clothes, anyone could tell that he was a leader, even next to one of the most powerful kings of Albion.

Princess Morgana's lips trembled. "Last night, I had a nightmare of a young child of about six years of age with bright blue eyes and black hair. He was chained to a cage, but relatively unharmed." Everyone went silent and turned to her. "He was with bounty hunters who were coming to Camelot to sell him as the child of a bandit, one who killed several men, but in his hand he held the crest of the Ambrosius's, the crest of King Balinor's family. But one of the bounty hunters saw the red cloak of Camelot and overreacted, thinking that they were going to kill him to get to the boy. The bounty hunter... slit the boys neck and he choked to death within minutes." Merlin's magic instinctively reached out to hers and the witch turned her eyes on the Prince in confusion, sensing his magic mingling with hers.

'I mean no harm,' he whispered inside of her mind, 'but how did you manage to see my brother in your dreams?'

'I... I don't know.' she looked at him intensely, emerald meeting with sapphire. 'I've had these visions for as long as I can remember. They're like dreams, but in color, much more vivid, and I can't forget them unless I help the poor soul who is reaching out to me. I'm a seer.'

The corners of Merlin's mouth twitched up. 'I know.'

"Alright." Prince Arthur clapped his hands loudly, making Merlin and Morgana both jump and bowed his head to the other Prince. "Now that the awkward staring contest is over, we welcome you to Camelot and we hope you enjoy your stay. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have training to go to. I'll see you around." And with that, he stormed out of the room, his father looking after him, scandalized.

"Please excuse my sons rude behavior." He apologized, glaring after the teenager.

Merlin laughed. "It's fine. It just shows me who to try to avoid at all costs!" Uther glared at the raven haired prince, who shrunk back towards the bed. "I'm so sorry, sire. My mistake."

"He's not normally like this." Explained Uther, his features relaxing slightly. "His mother is able to keep him on the right track."

"I understand, sire."

With a sigh, Uther walked towards the door, then turned back to Merlin. "Because I was such good friends with your father, you and your little brother, when he gets here, may stay in this castle for as long as you want, even if that means forever. We will try to take back Essetir castle and when we do, you are welcome to live there and rule as their king. If we don't," Uther paused for a second, clenching his jaw and trying to hide any emotion that showed on his face. "we will understand."

Uther walked out of the room and Morgana glanced one more time at Merlin before leaving with her father.

'I have to get out of here before I go insane out of worry for my brother.' The sorcerer prince thought before stretching and yawning.

"Hey, Will?" Merlin smiled at his servant.

"Yeah?"

"What do you say about a walk around Camelot?"

* * *

_Heya, my friends! This is **definitely **the last update before my school starts, so DON'T EXPECT ANOTHER UPDATE SO SOON! I'll probably write one for each month or two as I think I said in the beginning. Just know that I **will** be trying my hardest to write and spit these out as fast as I can. As I have probably said before as well, I'm writing another story, but this other story is going REALLY SLOWLY because its an original, so know that if I don't update within a week, I'm still writing this, I'm just REALLY busy!  
So, Arthur's an ass, Merlin is awesome, and Morgana is nice, just like season one, but UNLIKE season one, Uther is actually pretty cool. Stay tuned for the next chapter, when Arthur and Merlin meet again. Will they fight? Will they get along? WHO KNOWS? I do!  
Right now, sleep hasn't been very good to me and I'm practically falling asleep while writing this IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, so if there are mistakes, I would love to know! God, I'm so tired. I wish that I could just sleep and sleep until all of my tiredness was out of my system, but alas, that's not what my internal body clock says. It tells me to get up early and to fall asleep at midnight. Damn summer messed up everything (except my mental health which is very much improved since last year, even though I had another panic attack from just thinking about school and had to call my friend to talk me through it.)! Tomorrow is another kind of early wake up day, so as soon as I get home, I'm gonna fall asleep on my couch and not wake up until dinnertime.  
Please review and tell me how I'm doing. I would REALLY appreciate it!  
Review Responses:  
mersan123: You are so awesome! Thank you so much for both reviews. Reviews like this keep me writing!  
waszka098: Thank you for the second review and for keeping up with this story! Yeah, I actually took William from the show and tweaked his character until it seemed a bit more to the story line. I always hated that Will died in the show, so I brought him back in this one, although I'm not sure if he'll live through this one or not...  
Guest: Wow! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me. Every single review and reader counts!  
All: You guys are all truly awesome people!  
Thanks for reading and see ya next time!_

_REM_


	4. The Temporary Escape

_Nope. Still don't own Merlin._

* * *

As the week went on, Merlin got more and more restless in his chambers. He had gotten only one good look through Camelot because Gaius had confined him to the room ever since the Princes conscious medical examination, declaring that he was not well enough to go out into the city yet and it was driving both him and Will mad for different reasons.

"Merlin!" Will hissed as he plopped the Princes dry clothing basket on the bed. "For the last time, _sit down_ before you hurt yourself! The physician-"

"Oh forget about him!" Merlin was pacing like a tiger trapped in a small cage. "My _brother_ is still out there and what am I doing to help him? NOTHING! I'm not even able to go out and help search for him."

"That's because you're hurt." Will glared at his master as he folded his clothes. Merlin subconsciously rubbed his injured shoulder and for a moment, there was a tense silence.

"I don't care that my arm is a little sore. I've had worse!"

"But you've never gotten this close to the grave."

"I DON'T CARE!" Merlin felt a twist in his gut as his magic kicked in and his cobalt eyes turned gold. The servant was tossed a foot in the air and his body collided with the hard stone with a loud CRACK. The boy gasped and brushed his hand against the back of his head, his wide eyes pointing to his former friend. The Prince pointed to the door and growled one last word. "Leave."

Will's eyes fell to the ground and he bowed low to the Prince. "Yes, sire." He slipped out the door and bit his lip, tears shining in his eyes. Even though he knew it was just his master dealing with the loss of his family, he couldn't believe that Prince Merlin had used magic against him in anger. Inside of the room, he heard wood smashing against stone and glass shattering into a million pieces. Then, suddenly there was a short silence followed by the muffled a small thump. The sound of muffled sobbing began and the servant peeked in to see his master curled up in a ball on the floor, his hands covering his ears and his forehead pressed against the ground. His body shook with each sob. Almost everything in his room had been shattered into a million fragments which now coated the floor in splintered wood and shattered glass. Quietly, the servant closed the door once more and went down to the kitchen to get Prince Merlin's lunch. When he came back, his master was at the window, staring longingly out at the courtyard filled with people. The room looked as if the Prince hadn't just destroyed everything that was not nailed to the floor. The princes nose was bright red and tear tracks stained his cheeks. He looked like his true age and Will knew how much he was hurting. He placed down the tray and Merlin turned to the sound, surprised, his eyes widening with regret when he saw his servant.

"I'm sorry, Will." Merlin mumbled looking at his feet. "I shouldn't have lashed out. It was my mistake. I just feel so useless and helpless and my brother is out there probably fighting for his life or trapped in a cage somewhere. I can't just sit here and wait for a sign! If they want to know where to find him, they are missing their best weapon. Me." Merlin stepped forward and donned a look of determination. He looked like he was back to his old self and Will almost smiled. "I may be able to sense his very distinct kind of magic."

"Sire, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to walk around the town today?" The corner of Will's mouth flickered up and Merlin tilted his head to the side, his eyes full of confusion.

"But... I'm not supposed to..."

"That's why I brought this!" Will went over to his bag and pulled out his long, dark, royal blue cloak and Merlin's eyes lit up slightly.

He rushed over and took it in his arms before throwing it over his shoulders as his eyes dimmed back to their now normal misery. "Let's go find my brother."

"Sire?" Will gripped Merlin's arm and looked into the prince's eyes. "We still need to be careful. The king's son, Prince Arthur is near the edge of the city, where we'll be going. The forest there is thick and riddled with thieves and bandits. If your brother is in danger, he would most likely be there."

Merlin nodded, flicking up his large hood. It completely cast his face into shadow and he grinned, his eyes glowing slight gold and making them look like specs of light in the midst of the inky midnight black. Will had mended the cloak so that it looked as good as new and the blue material trailed behind him as he spun, the material hanging from his shoulders to the floor like a waterfall cascading around his thin body. He went over to a full sized mirror which had hung, unused, in the chambers for so long that dust coated the reflective surface completely. The prince brushed it off with the extra fabric of his sleeve and looked at his image. He lifted his head, keeping his back completely straight, and squared his shoulders. Looking back to his servant, he gestured to his clothes and Will nodded, smiling a crooked smile.

"We haven't had to sneak out in such a long time." He walked over to the door and opened it for his master. When the cloaked Prince passed, Ganymede reached out for his shoulder but with a flash of the Prince's eyes, the guard tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Will checked his pulse, laid him down flat and whispered in his new friends' ear, "I'm so sorry, but we need to go. You'll understand when we come back."

The guard groaned in his sleep and shifted, curling up on his side and pressing his face into the ground and Will ran back into the princes room, grabbed a towel, and placed it under the guards' head so that his face wouldn't get scratched up.

"Will!" The Princes' whisper made his servants' shot, and he ran towards Merlin who stood a few feet away, frantically beckoning to him. "We have to move quickly if we want to get out of here before they find that I'm gone, then double the guard and close the gates. Let's GO!" He grabbed Will's wrist and began to run through the halls, his long cloak trailing behind them. By the time they reached the tall stone back gate of the castle, the Warlock Prince was gasping and stumbling, sweat pouring from his brow. His friend grasped him by the arm and sat him down on the grass next to the wall, ignoring the Prince's protests.

"Sire, you need to rest! You're still healing." Will begged but his prince shook his head frantically.

"No, I need to find my brother." Merlin got his feet under him, but he stumbled and his servant caught him before he fell, his hood pushing back, revealing his clenched jaw and painful wince. He gripped his shoulder where Will knew he had been burned. When he tilted his head forward, the hood fell back in place, covering his face in a mysterious darkness once more. "I'm fine." His voice was strained, but he pushed away from Will and walked on. His servant trailed behind him like a second shadow and they began to walk away from the castle and towards the trees. A voice called out from behind them, but Merlin was too preoccupied with putting one foot in front of the other and trying to find his brothers magic that he barely noticed it until he saw Will stop in the corner of his eye, his foot on a wooden target which the other servant, Morris was scrambling towards.

"Hey, c'mon now." Will put his hands on his hips. "That's enough."

The golden haired prince glared at the new servant. With one glance at Morris, he stepped towards Will. "What?"

"You've had your fun, my friend." He crossed his arms and glanced towards Merlin, who nodded approvingly. Helping the ones who couldn't help themselves was always the Ambrosious way.

With a huff, Arthur's eyebrow crawled up his forehead. "Do I know you?"

"Well, I don't believe so. I'm Will." The servant extended his arm, but Camelot's Prince just kept his eyes fixed on his face. His goonies watched the exchange silently.

"So, I don't know you."

"Not really. No."

"And yet you called me 'friend'?"

Will laughed slightly. "That was my mistake."

Arthur turned back to his followers and said over his shoulder. "Yes, I think so."

"Yeah. I never had a friend who could be such an ass." Merlin laughed as Arthur's minions "oooooooh"ed. The prince froze in his tracks, his back tensing with anger.

The dark haired prince went up to Will and grabbed his arm gently, pulling him away from the hostile prince.

"Or I one who could be so stupid." Both Merlin and Will froze in their tracks. "Tell me, _Will,_" He spat the name as if it were dirt, "do you know how to walk on your knees?"

Merlin's eyebrow lifted. Was that supposed to be a threat, or...

Will thought for a moment, his face twisting in confusion. "No." He said, carefully.

"Would you like me to show you?" Arthur stepped forward, his friends egging him on. The cloaked prince stepped in front of his servant, anger permeating through his body.

"I wouldn't if I were you." The younger prince said, his voice low and threatening.

"Why? What are you going to do to me?" The golden haired prince took in Merlin's cloaked appearance. "Flash some lights at me?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Merlin growled through his clenched teeth. His energy was completely and utterly focused on the other prince, so when Will crept back in front, the warlock didn't see him until the boy took a swing at the Prince, who ducked backward and twisted Will's arm painfully behind him. The servant groaned in agony, his face tight with pain, and the cloaked warlock felt the power bubbling up in his stomach from his rage. He let it go and as he felt his eyes glow, Arthur was thrown five feet in the air. The warlock smiled cruelly and out stretched his arm, focusing the flow of magic through his fingertips. When he let the magic go again, it was all focused on one point. That was Arthur. The prince floated over his friends and as Merlin watched him struggle, he didn't notice the hood falling back from his face, allowing everyone there to know exactly who he was. His servant tugged at his sleeve and the warlocks concentration broke, making Arthur plummet to the ground as his 'friends' didn't even try to catch him.

"Prince Merlin." Arthur pushed himself back up, a hateful grin plastered on his face. "What a surprise."

"Prince Arthur." Merlin sent him a hateful smile back. "What an arse."

"Why you-" the blond launched himself at the raven-haired boy, but his friends held him back and he growled in frustration. With a smirk, Merlin turned around and began walking towards the forest, Will following closely behind.

"I didn't expect the prince of Camelot to act like such a pig!" Merlin growled.

"I know what you mean." Will agreed and there was a short silence after that. They walked together for a while, reveling in each others company and allowing the sounds of the forest to go undisturbed. A deer walked up to the cloaked prince and began to walk along side of him and within five minutes, the two friends were walking with and followed by several animals including rabbits, deer, foxes, and even a few raccoons. A falcon flew down an perched on the princes' shoulder and he remembered what his father had told him about the animals.

"They can sense your gentleness through the purity of your magic, and Merlin, my boy, you have the most pure magic I have ever felt." Balinor had comforted Merlin after the first time when he went in the forest. The little boy had come home crying to his father about being chased by the animals. Almost half of the forest had found him that day, and he giggled at the memory.

With a sigh, he spread his magic through the forest. Like a flood, it covered every single little bump on every rock in the whole of Camelot's forest, allowing him to see where everything and everyone was located. He felt the travelers, the druids, and every citizen of Camelot so clearly, but what he didn't feel was his brother. The Magic spread itself as far as it could without breaking apart, yet little Mordred still wasn't within his reach. A few moments later, he realized that one of the traveling caravans was dragging a cage on wheels behind one of the horses and he let his magic zero in on it.

Inside of the small cage there was a boy with midnight black hair and sky blue eyes. He wore only a pair of brown trousers and shivered in the cool air. His teeth clacked together and he hugged himself to try and keep warm. There were shackles on his wrists that were etched with druid symbols and bound him to the cart. Anti-magic shackles. Merlin hummed in curiosity and when he pushed through the magical barrier he heard a gasp on the other end.

'Mordred?' Merlin whispered through the link and he felt the boy nod.

'Merlin!' The younger prince cried. 'You got my message!'

'Of course I did.' Merlin grinned and Will sighed with relief. 'Didn't I always tell you that I'd know where you were, and that I'd always protect you, no matter what?'

Mordred hummed in response. 'Are mom and dad with you?'

There was so much hope in the little boy's voice that Merlin was tempted to lie. 'No, they aren't I don't know where they are.'

'Oh.' Merlin felt a wave of grief pass through the connection and he felt a need to change the subject.

'Did they hurt you?'

'Not very badly. They haven't broken any bones. Yet.' The last part was added softly as if he didn't actually want his brother to hear. Merlin felt a deep seated anger fill his lungs and he growled.

'Mordred, listen to me. I will find you. I won't let them-'

"Merlin!" Will's yell cut through the trance like a knife through butter and Merlin shook himself slightly.

"Wha-"

"RUN!"

And run he did. Over the rocks and through the trees, he sprinted as far away as he could from the castle of Camelot. As fast as the animals ran when they heard Will's cry. The heavy footfalls of soldiers spurred the boy on. Just as soon as he thought he lost them, his cloak midnight blue caught on a tree branch and sent him tumbling into a small ditch. He scrambled to get up, but a bag dropped over his head and his hands were tied behind his back. His magic felt logy and he stumbled, nearly falling over several times, but he was caught and propelled forward every time by rough, callused hands and he knew he was going somewhere he didn't want to be.

* * *

When the bag was ripped off, his magic woke up and he was shaken from the tired state. Merlin was on his knees in a throne room about the same size as his was in Essetir's. Uther paced in front of him with his hands folded behind his back. Igraine and Morgana were in their thrones, their eyes wide and pitying unlike Arthur, who looked at the raven haired boy like a tiger looks at its prey.

"Merlin." The king stated, standing directly in front of the cloaked boy. "You have disobeyed me _and _you have hurt my son, Arthur."

"If I may, sire-"

"You may not, boy. You have injured my boy and you have hurt my pride. You are to be put in the dungeons until I say so otherwise. Am I understood?"

"But, sire-"

"**_Am I_ understood****?**" The kings voice echoed in the nearly empty halls and Merlin hung his head.

"Yes, sire."

With that, the Prince of Essetir was dragged, like a common thief, into the dark, dank dungeons and chained to the wall with heavy iron shackles like an animal. He looked closely at his restraints and read the symbols which had been etched into the rough surface.

'Magic blocking restraints.' Merlin laughed sourly to himself. 'I should have known.'

With a groan, he reclined against the scratchy stone and closed his eyes, hoping that the king would free him before it was too late for his brother. Hoping that the bounty hunters wouldn't sell his brother before they reached Camelot. Hoping that someone would, if he wasn't there, realize who his brother truly before the king killed the boy thinking that he was a criminal.

* * *

_Hello again! Did you miss me? A-Are you guys mad at me? Please don't be mad at me! (*makes puppy dog eyes*) I'm updating as fast as I can and, believe me, I know it's not fast enough. I'm just writing sooooo many things at the same time and it's REALLY hard to keep up with everyone's expectations.  
Now, as for this chapter, I'm very sorry this took such a long time. I have been trying to get it done, and I'm sorry for the slap-dash quality, but school has been weighing me down with so much homework! I actually am writing this late at night between assignments when I'm supposed to be working or sleeping, but HEY, at least this is done, right? I was SO happy to see that people didn't forget about me when I took a short break. This month has been crazy and I'm just getting the swing of school, so STAY WITH ME, MY FRIENDS!  
By the way, what do you think of poor Merlin's dilemma here? He knows where his brother is and he has a fair idea of who the people are that have him, BUT, he is trapped in Camelot's dungeons. (I know, people who have read PoD, Uther throws Merlin in the dungeon AGAIN, but at least he's not getting tortured. :) No sympathy) Mordred's future looks like it's gonna be cut short. Arthur hates Merlin. Uther is angry AND married to a kind woman. Morgana is...well, MORGANA. (Don't worry. She'll be a bit more of a central character within the next chapter.) And... I'm very sorry about the lack of Gilli and Damian. (That will ALSO be remedied in the next chapter.)  
__By the way, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! God, I really should go.  
Review replies:  
HollyDawn- Wow! I don't know what to say. Thank you so much! It's people like you who keep me writing this stuff.  
mersan123- OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! You are the only one who has reviewed every chapter so far. Like I said before, I love to write because of people like you.  
Linorien- Are you still waiting? I hope you are! I feel as though Merlin would be calm about most things. He's a very strategical thinker, so even though sometimes he may do very spur of the moment things, he keeps calm and collected through most of their ordeals in the show, so I tried to incorporate that into this fic.  
xAPRAx- Your review actually reminded me to start writing this again, so thank you! I'm still not quite sure why I have to school, either. In kindergarten, I said it was because my parents would go to jail if I didn't go to school, so I'm sticking with that answer. Arthur is about 5 years older than Merlin, so he's around 20.  
Now I really gotta go._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!  
See ya later! _

_REM_


	5. Sorry!

*dodges flying rotten fruit* Oh god. I screwed up. I'm so sorry for not posting anything earlier. I've just been so swamped with work that I haven't had any time to myself and I just got this story on my phone, so you can expect an update by the New Year. I know I'm a horrible person, but I'm actually writing this while I'm supposed to be doing homework for one of my hardest classes, so I have been thinking about it! Know that I'm trying my hardest.

Here's what I'll do. I'll tell you what you can look forward to in the next chapter:  
-Gili and Damian meeting Merlin  
-Poor little Mordred coming into the picture  
-Awesome Morgana  
-Merlin seeing a bit of Arthur's good side  
-Not completely horrible Uther

I have to go, now! My work calls, but I will try to update as soon as I can.

Talk to you (hopefully) soon! *runs away dodging rotten fruit and pitchforks and knives*

REM


	6. Deals, Morals, and Magic

_Nope. Merlin isn't mine._

* * *

The first thing that Damian felt when he awoke was pain. Everywhere. The type of pain that feels like strings being plucked under your skin and inside of your bone. The type of pain that makes your eyes water and you know it won't stop until it's done with you. He had felt this several times in his life, and never had he ever wanted to wake up like this again. Yet, it seemed that every time he thought he was in the clear, it happened again.

With a groan, he tried to open his eyes and was rewarded with a horrible splitting headache. He groaned louder and felt the heal of someones hand pressing against his forehead.

"No." The stern, yet quiet and gentle word came from the old physician who he had gotten to know so well. "Let him wake up. It's about time."

"Gai-us." Damian sobbed weakly. "It... hurts."

"I know, my boy. I know." He felt the old man press a vial to his lips and he drank. The foul taste of the pain medication burned his tongue and down his throat, and he gagged, feeling a wave of nausea hit him hard. Quickly, a goblet of water was pressed against his mouth and he drank greedily, the clear liquid washing down the burning horrible taste of the potion. Slowly, the physicians apprentice opened his eyes carefully. Gili leaned over him, a concerned expression on his worried face. His brother watched as his eyes adjusted to the light, and he smiled at the older boy, who launched himself at his brother.

"Thank the gods!" The sorcerer cried, his arms wrapped around Damian's neck. "I am never letting you out of my sight again."

Damian laughed, but groaned as it made pain shoot through the left side of his head. "What if I need to pee or... the other thing."

Gili turned bright red. "Well, almost never."

The sound of chopping made the boys turn their head. A boy with soft features and kind eyes stood at the table chopping herbs, then putting the leaves in the mortar and grinding them into the small stone bowl. He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice their questioning stares for about five minutes. Gaius descended down the steps which lead up to a guest bedroom, his hands full of thin blankets, which he passed to Gili who placed them over his brother with a glance, his eyes not willing to leave the new boy just yet. The old man walked over to the table, looked at the mixture in the mortar and nodded, clearly pleased with whatever he was making.

"Who are you?" The stranger jumped when Damian spoke, his green eyes meeting the apprentices brown ones. For a second, there was a silence as the boy ground a few leaves thoroughly into the mixture, his brown wrinkling in concentration.

"I'm Will. I came in to assist Gaius because of your condition." He shrugged, his emerald eyes flicking towards him, then back to his work. "I'm the personal manservant of Prince Merlin of Essetir, who has currently gone temporarily missing. He wasn't in his rom when I checked on him. Nor was he anywhere I thought he would be. A guard told me that the physician needed an assistant for a while until you recovered and I'm currently out of work, so I thought it was a pretty good deal."

"The Prince of Essetir is here?" Damian's face went as white as a sheet, fear gripping his heart. His head spun and he nearly fell down before Gili lowered him down to the cot. When he opened his eyes again, Will pressed a cool wet towel against his forehead.

"Don't hurt yourself!" The manservant smiled kindly at the frightened boy, wiping the sweat from his brow. "You've been out for a few days now, from what I heard. You have to take everything a lot slower than you would normally." Just as Will finished the sentence, the door slammed open revealing the irritated Prince of Camelot, who squinted hatefully at the foreigner.

"Where's Gaius?" The golden haired teen glared at the three boys. Will stood up and went back to the wooden table, painfully aware of the fact that the prince was nearly drilling a hole in his shoulder from his powerful glare.

"He is currently out. I can help you with what ever you need." The Essetiran manservant kept his neutral gaze on the hostile prince.

"Are you sure you aren't too simple-minded?" He sneered.

"Gaius seems to think I'm not, so I'll go by his ruling."

The brothers watched the exchange with wide eyes, absorbing every single word. They had never heard someone talk to someone of higher authority like this, never mind a peasant to a prince.

"Well, then." He gestured towards his manservant who bit his cheek to keep from whimpering in fear. "When will he be ready for work, again?"

"Not for a while." Will began chopping some more herbs, avoiding the Princes intense gaze. "He's very badly injured."

"But then who's supposed to do his chores?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn't care, as if he had other, more important things to think about besides talking to the Prince of the kingdom he was currently residing in. Prince Arthur attempted to use this same calm as he slowly stalked his prey, although his eyes betrayed his anger and irritation, circling the temporary physician's apprentice.

"_You_ are a manservant," he said conversationally, his golden hair shining threateningly in the sunlight. Will nodded, his head not lifting from the small bowl that he was grounding materials in. Arthur stopped directly behind the foreigner, his eyes gleaming with dislike and anger yet his face just as stoic as the boys. "Why don't you do my manservants chores today? Maybe then you'll learn what a servant is supposed to act like."

Will poured the contents of the bowl into a small vial full of water, carefully making sure it didn't spill. "Sorry, I'm busy. Mr. Gaius needs-"

"Don't worry about Gaius. There are plenty other servants that can help him."

"But, sire-"

"Oh, but I insist!" He said with fake enthusiasm, shoving the boy towards the door. "You're only a few years younger than me. It's perfectly fine!"

Will tried to escape back to the table, but the prince caught him by the waist and threw him out the door, slamming it shut behind them. Damian stared after them, his face pale with terror. His eyes were wide and unblinking, fixed on the flimsy wooden door that kept him apart from the Prince of his nightmares. The boy began to tremble, sweat pouring down his neck, as he began to slowly sit up, wincing as he felt pain blossoming in his ribs. Gili looked at his brother for a few moments, his eyes wide in shock before trying to gently push the troubled boy back to the cot. The man servant began to shake his head, his neck movements quickly going from slow to really fast, tears blurring his vision.

"Will no!" He sobbed. "No! He'll kill him, Gili, he will! Will, come back!"

"Damian, calm down! Please!" Gili tried to hold his brother down, but the boy kept on worming out from under his grip. "You'll hurt yourself."

"No! Not another one..." Damian's voice faded as he began to feel weak and clumsy. His body sagged back and Gili gently lowered him down to the cot. With a sigh, the sorcerer put his head in his hands feeling as if he had let his best friend in the world be let down. Again.

* * *

Morgana Pendragon was furious with her father. That new, young prince, Merlin, was in the right and Arthur deserved that butt kicking that he had received, or so SHE had thought. Her heels clicked on the white marble floor as she speed through the arched hallways of her home, her head held high and her hands clasped in front of her. The long blue and purple dress Gwen had put on her that morning hid her pointed shoes and complimented the gold and sapphire necklace that shone brightly between her collar bone, her obsidian locks spilling over her shoulder. As most people said about her, she was like a dragon, beautiful and surreal when calm, but dangerous and cunning when angry.

As she neared the physician's chambers, she saw her brother shove the Essetiran servant out of the door and stumble off in the same way she was heading. Arthur gripped his shoulder tightly and began to walk down the hallway, not once looking back to see his sister. Morgana was tempted to follow them, but she heard sobbing coming from the inside of the physician's chambers. She paused for a second, debating whether to follow her brother or help the one who was sobbing, then bit her lip and pushed the wooden door open. A peasant whose name she remembered as Gilli sat next to the prince's unconscious manservant, his cheeks still stained with tear tracks. The conscious boy held his head in his hands, sniffling softly while rubbing his palms on his forehead as if he had a headache.

Morgana bit her lip and, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, used magic to put Gili in a small sound bubble so that he wouldn't hear anything around him. Concentrating half of her energy into the small feat of magic she was performing and the rest on moving across the room and dragging a chair next to him, she was able to get around without him noticing her which is what she wanted. Whenever she made herself known to people, they always acted tougher and as if she was the only one that mattered. She had seen people go from devious to kind in the blink of an eye. Once, she had accidentally walked in on a medical procedure, but when the physician caught sight of her, he dropped his supplies and bowed to her, inquiring about her while his patient died on the cot.

She plopped down into the chair and let the magic go with a sigh of relief. Gili's head flung up in surprise when she placed her hand gently on his back, rubbing in soothing circles. He stared at the King's Ward for a second, his brain processing what he was seeing, then he jumped up and hung his head to avoid looking in her eyes. His swollen, red rimmed, blue eyes were sparkling with tears, but he blinked them away with a slight shake of his head. He rubbed his bright red nose on his dirty sleeve as he sniffed, acting as if he wasn't saddened by the boy lying on the cot who had obviously been beaten badly.

"My lady!" he exclaimed with a quick and slight bow, "Can I help you with something?" He looked around the room. "I'm not very good at healing, but I do know the basics of a physician's practice as well as some magical techniques."

"Oh, no!" Morgana's cheeks reddened as she pulled him back into his seat. "You just looked like you needed someone and..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

Gili gave her a weary look. "Are you sure you're alright, Lady Morgana?"

"Yes. This boy," she gestured at the unconscious servant, "however doesn't look so healthy. Who is he?"

"Damian." The boy said the name with a sob and the King's Ward put her arm around his shoulders. "He's my brother."

For a few moments, all that was heard throughout the chambers was Gili's soft sniffling until Morgana broke the silence. "It was _my_ brother wasn't it? The one who hurt Damian."

Hesitantly, Gili nodded.

"Irritating prick." She growled in frustration.

Suddenly, a groan arose from the boy on the cot and the two people jumped in surprise. As he began to slowly awaken, curling in on himself and moaning in pain, Gili began panicking.

"I-I-I don't know what to do!"

"Gili-"

"I thought he wasn't going to wake up because he just wore himself out-"

"GILI, I think-"

"-so much that he knocked himself-""GILI!" Morgana practically screamed in his face and the peasant froze, shocked. "I think you should let him wake up. Plus, I know someone who would like to meet him. He may be able to heal Damian's arm."

"Really?" Gili looked skeptically at the Lady. "Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Gili stared at the woman in amazement and Damian groaned, blinking, his eyes going in and out of focus. "Why do you want to help me?"  
Morgana looked at him with compassion, a slight smile touching her lips. "You looked sad."

* * *

The dark, dank cell was quiet, the sound of fast breathing and dripping water. The chains around Merlin's wrists clinked together as he shivered, his teeth clattering together. It wasn't like he was isolated. In fact the queen, herself, had come to talk to him. She had apologized for the king chaining him to the wall like a dog and had said she had tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen.

"It was like talking to a brick wall." She had said. "He wouldn't budge on this issue even if I had pushed him."

And it had been fun talking to the regal woman. She was stunningly beautiful and dressed in a flowing dark purple dress, precious jewels woven into the fabric, a golden crown resting atop her perfect golden curls. Her face was only slightly wrinkled and still the very picture of beauty. Her kind blue eyes made him feel like he could trust her with anything, yet still he felt restrained. The warlock wished he didn't feel so held back when her calming presence had left the dungeons, leaving him in the cold, silent darkness. As the time ticked on, his mind began to wander. He thought of all of the darkness in his life; what happened to his family, what would happen to him if he got caught, what they were doing to his brother, and what they were going to do with Essetir after they were done with the princes. They being the barbarians; Cenred's army and sorcerers. Finally, as he was just falling asleep, the clicking of pointed heels from down the hallway caught his attention. The woman seemed to be walking at a surprisingly slow pace towards his cell. Merlin brushed off his dirty shirt, cloak, and trousers before the Lady Morgana stepped out in front of the bars, her and a sorcerer holding up what looked to be a servant between them.

"Morgana!" Merlin scrambled to get up, the chains clinking and scraping his wrists raw and bloody. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Well," she pursed her lips, her Irish lilt more prominent to the Prince than usual "I'm sorry to hear that you think so little of me."

"Oh, no. No, no, I didn't mean that at all. I just-"

"Never mind that." She gestured towards the injured boy, who whimpered in response. "My brother used my friend as a punching bag and has now taken your servant, as well. Can you heal him? It's just a broken arm."

The warlock bit his lip. "I don't know."

The peasant slammed his hands on the bars, making Merlin flinch back. "PLEASE!" He growled, his voice dangerously close to tears. "You need to help him. He's my brother. I can't lose him!"

"Look, I-"

"I'll look after your servant for you." The Kings Ward promised, slight anger and worry shining in her eyes. "I'll make it so that you don't have to worry about him being hurt by Arthur ever again."

"And how are you going to do that?!" The raven haired prince raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know! I'll figure it out!"

"Fine." He crossed his arms, the chain links jingling together. "But someone has to either figure out how to get at least one of these chains off of me or break the symbols, and someone needs to lay the boy on the bed I'm my arms reach." Merlin walked as close to the bars as he could and knelt down so that the boy could see him.

"Hey." The kindly prince smiled at the fearful boy, his voice gentle and soft. "Just hang on. I'll try to help you as much as I possibly can. What's your name?"

"Damian." He whispered, the word slurred and nearly incomprehensible.

"Well, Damian, it's nice to meet you. I'm Merlin."

The boy nodded, exhausted and confused and just wanting to go home.

Merlin stood back up, looking the sorcerer straight in the eye. "You should go. It's getting late."

Morgana nodded, muttering a "Thank you" over her shoulder as they left the darkness of the dungeon.

* * *

When Morgana arrived at her chamber that night, she looked stressed and agitated. She was happy to see her maidservant, Gwen, who had been helping Gaius for a few days, but a she could do was weakly smile at her friend as she glided quickly over to the chair, her legs wobbling underneath her. The olive skinned girl smiled back at her mistress, taking note on her distress as she hung up another dress, grabbing the nearest hanger and slipping it into a velvety warm fabric, it's long sleeves bordered with puffy furs. It was long, dark, and soft both inside and out. In fact, Gwen had made it herself a few months after she got the job for the Lady Morgana and, wanting to impress her Lady, she had set it down on the table next to the vase of flowers she had collected. She had stood awkwardly in the middle of the room for a full ten minutes, having finished her chores before finishing the garment, and, being the awkward teenager that she was, started tapping and humming a melody quietly to herself. When the King's Ward had at last arrived, a large smile on her young, king face, she had seen the black dress and her eyes had gone wide with shock, dropping the small, unbreakable vial of nightmare medication, she gasped and with a big smile, grabbed the dress on the table.

"Wow!" Her smile was so wide that Gwen could count her teeth. It was one of Morgana's first few months at Camelot, slightly closer to a year, but in that time period, she stuck with the same maid, unlike her "brother", Arthur, who had gone through 5 servants of his own within that very same timeframe. She twirled around with the dress until she got tangled in it, causing her and her maidservant to burst out in laughter.

When the Prince burst through the doorway and saw both girls on the floor with tears pouring out of their eyes laughing as hard as humanly possible, he blushed and called out, "Morgana, the King requests your presence, so when you're done messing around you can get up, make yourself presentable, and head to the throne room."

She looked up in surprise, her face changing from elation to cold, hard, neutrality. "Oh, do be quiet, Arthur." She stood up and brushed herself off. "Just because you don't know how to have fun doesn't mean that no one else is allowed to."

The regal girl held her head high as she walked out of the room, her nose in the air despite her obvious avoidance of Arthur's glare. "And at least _try_ to act like a lady."

His words seemed to spur Morgana on and she quickly turned the corner. Nevertheless, he caught sight of the glistening tears of rage in her eyes. The Prince furrowed his eyebrows and tried to understand why she was crying. He didn't say anything mean, insulting, or degrading to her. He didn't hurt her. So, then, why where there tears on her face? He shook his head in bewilderment. Maybe, there would be a day when he understood females, but it would not come any day soon, Arthur knew that.

"It's because you caught her playing around," The boy spun in shock to see Morgana's servant girl putting a new, black dress in the wardrobe, "and you told her that she wasn't good enough because of it, Sire."

Arthur looked at the girl- the _servant_ in disgust. "Did I ask you?"

"No, Sire." The small girl kept her gaze on the floor as she turned slowly towards him. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she kept tears in, her hands shaking and her face pale with fear. "I'm- I'm sorry, Sire. I just thought that you looked confused and I know you've never had a sister before and I just wanted-"

"Alright. But next time you talk to me without me permission, I will have you punished. Especially if you say something like that. And if I ask you a question, I expect you to respond in a simple, 'Yes, Sire' or 'No, Sire'. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sire."

He nodded and with one last glare over his shoulder, he left the chamber and Gwen took a huge sigh of relief. After that traumatizing event, every time any Prince talked to her, she remembered Arthur's glaring face and his instructions. But Morgana was a different story. She was kind and considerate, brave and loyal.

These traits were reflected in the Queen and King, as well. King Uther was cold and distant while Ygraine was warm and friendly.

She shook her head to anchor her to reality, sighing and grabbing another hanger, preparing to hang up another dress when she noticed her pale, black haired friend giving her an odd look. Gwen flicked back a dark lock of hair behind her shoulder and looked up, giving her a questioning glance.

"Gwen..." Morgana slyly glanced at her friend from the corner of her eye. "Your father is a blacksmith, is he not?"

"Yes, My Lady?" The maidservant was confused as she wiped her sweaty hands on her apron and cotton dress, her curly black hair escaping the ponytail lock by lock.

Morgana raised and inquisitive eyebrow. "And are you familiar with his trade?"

Gwen smiled. "Of course, My Lady."

"Have you ever learned how to... pick a lock or... possibly... engrave something onto a metal chain?"

"Um, yes, actually, m'Lady. It was actually quite fun."

Morgana smiled and clapped her hands together, startling Gwen as she jumped a few inches into the air. "Then, you'll love this job that I have for you, although, you can't let anyone know about it. Not even your father."

"Go on, ma'am." Gwen sat down across from Morgana and the royals smile grew.

"Do you know the servant Damian and his brother Gili?" Gwen nodded, her expression growing worried. "Well, he broke his arm pretty badly and he won't be able to use it again unless it's fixed with powerful magic. My magic isn't anywhere near as strong as it would have to be to heal it, but Prince Merlin's, on the other hand, has more magic than I will probably every know. I don't think that even _he_ knows what he's capable of. He has agreed to help us if I can insure his manservants safety, but to help, he needs to get one of the chains off of his wrist so he can channel his magic. Do you think you could get us into the cell and get the manacle off of his wrist?"

A cat like grin stretched across her face. "Of course, My Lady."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little scheming fest here," a familiar, male voice coming from the doorway startled them and the women turned around to see Prince Arthur leaning on the doorpost, his legs and arms crossed, "but that plan has several holes in it and is frankly pretty shaky."

"Arthur!" Morgana growled, shooting a powerful glare at her half brother to hide the blush of anger that crept up her cheeks. Gwen lowered her head and stood up, backing away from the table.

"I mean, what about the guards? What about the others in the dungeons? What if someone attacks you and tries to kill you?" The Lady took a knife from her high heeled boot. "Well, I guess that solves that problem. But what if you run into someone in the hallways? What if Father realizes that you're trying to help the Prince escape and catches you in the act, then throws you in there as well?"

"I was going to get someone else to help me, like Gili."

"Who?"

"Damian's brother."

"That man is _rubbish_ with a sword."

"But he has magic."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Then, who's going to carry my servant?"

Morgana turned her head away, crossing her legs as she sat in the carefully designed oaken chair. "I don't know."

"Alright." The prince pushed away from the door way and entered the room. "Then let me help. I'll deal with the guards and any other trouble we'll experience. Get your cloaks, both of you. We're going on a 'ride'. Let's go tell Father."

* * *

The small crowd of hooded figures entered the dungeon, Damian and Gili limping slowly behind the rest. They began to descend own the stone stairway and the two, sweaty, worried looking guards.

"Halt!" One of them held up a large hand and Prince Arthur lowered his hood.

"Gentlemen!" He smiled warmly. "What can I do for you today?"

The plumper one gasped. "Please excuse us, Your Majesty. It was just our orders."

"I understand. May we please continue? These are some friends of mine. We were going to apologize to Prince Merlin before Morgana and I went for a ride."

"Yes. Yes of course."

The golden-haired man looked at them for a minute. "You two look thirsty. Why don't you two get a drink while we're here. We'll keep order down here." He took out his sword and the guards flinched back. "Drinks on me."

"Of course, Sire. Thank you, Sire." And with that, the two men were off to the tavern. Later that day, they would be found, passed out in an alleyway with no recollection of how they got there and a horrible hangover.

Arthur motioned for Morgana, Gili, Damian, and Gwen to go before him, and the Kings Ward surged forward with her maidservant close behind, pushing their hoods back. The peasants followed behind them, limping and breathing hard (Gili had taken most of Damian's weight onto his shoulder, and Damian was still injured, clutching the broken arm in the sling). Lastly, Arthur followed cautiously, his sword outdrawn as he eyed the other occupied cages.

When they arrived at Merlin's cage, he stood at the back, facing the tiny window that shined the minuscule amount of light into the dark dungeons. As he heard the clicking of Morgana's heels stop at his cage, he spun around, quite surprised to see the small crowd of people she had gathered for him.

"You again!" He crossed his arms when he saw the other Prince, who nodded and averted his eyes in shame.

"My actions have been atrocious as of late. I an _very_ sorry about what happened on the training field." Merlin thought for a minute, then nodded, satisfied with the apology.

"I accept your apology. I hope we may become friends in the near future."

The golden haired Prince gestured to the lock, and the maidservant cleared her throat. Gwen knelt down and pulled two wires out of her hair, carefully pushing them into the lock and within a minute, the door swung open. The raven haired Prince grinned at the maidservant as she glanced nervously at him. Morgana's eyebrows scrunched together when Gwen didn't immediately rush forward to unchain the man.

"What's wrong, Gwen?" She asked her servant who shook her head.

"He's a powerful sorcerer." Gwen bit her lip. "Are you really sure he should be out? He could hurt people." Merlin's face fell and he looked at the maid, surprised.

"Nonsense!" Morgana scoffed. "He's a good person. _Mer_lin wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"But..." She glanced at Arthur and whispered to her mistress, "What about Prince Arthur?"

"Gwen..." The Camelotian Prince looked at the maid. "It's Gwen, right?"

"Guinevere, My Lord." She clasped her hands in front of her, her cheeks burning and eyes towards the floor.

"We both know I deserved what he did to me on the training grounds." He went on, keeping his eyes on the _surprisingly_ beautiful servant. "I had it coming. Even my own mother thinks it was just. Plus, just incase he misbehaves, I have a sword and Gili has magic. We had nothing to worry about!"

She nodded and knelt down again, slipping the lock picks into the keyhole, and with a few clicks and one last shove, one manacle came off of his wrist. "I'm keeping the other one on for safety."

Merlin nodded. "Thank you very much, Gwen. Is my servant safe, Morgana?"

"Yes." Arthur answered for her. "He is doing some laundry right now."

With another nod, the foreigner gestured to his cot. "Gili, could you bring Damian over here, please?"

The two peasants limped over to the cot and Gili placed his brother on the mat with a sigh of relief. The Essetiran prince walked over to the cot and held his hand over Damian, parallel to his chest. He mumbled, "**Atgyweirua hon bachgen hanafu.**" and his eyes turned bright gold. There was an audible _SNAP _and a few small pops, then Damian sighed in relief, his eyes brightening almost instantly and a grin fixing itself onto his face.

"Thank you so much!" He held out his hand to the Prince who shook it heartily. "Do you have any empty spots in your castle that I could possibly fill?"

Merlin laughed as Arthur gaped. "Are you saying you don't like it here?!"

Damian paled as he realized who else was there with him. "N-n-no, Sire."

"I was joking, Damian. I haven't been treating you very well." Arthur cracked a smile.

"And that will be one of the things that will be sure to change." Morgana fixed him with an icy glare.

"Of course."

Merlin smiled and he opened his mouth to say something before a huge wave of magical force hit him straight in the chest. He stumbled back in shock and coughed, falling onto his hands and knees, winded from surge. Three pairs of hands rushed towards him, one of them rubbing his back, one of them tapping his cheek to keep him conscious as he gasped for air, and one with their hands out stretched towards him, casting spell that helped open up his airways. After a few minutes, he got his breathing under control and looked up to see the three peasants sitting next to him and making sure he was okay with Morgana watching worriedly over their shoulders and Arthur still at the door, pretending not to care, but glancing towards the scene anxiously. The warlock allowed the magic passed his barrier and his head jerked up, accidentally banging Damian in the face.

"You just fixed me and now I'm already injured again!" He joked and the crowd burst out in laughter with Arthur attempting (but failing) to keep a straight face. All except Merlin who fixed his gaze at the wall in front of him.

"My brother-" He whispered and Morgana conjured a goblet filled with water which he drank greedily. "My brother is nearing the Castle."

* * *

_Aaaaaaand that's where it's gonna stop for now! Aren't I evil! *evil laugh* Another cliffy. Luckily, it's before the start of the New Year, so I DID BETTER THAN I SAID I WOULD! YAAAAAAY! This is another of those fics that you never know when the author is going to update, but you know it won't be anytime soon, so I'm really truly sorry! Even now I'm procrastinating homework, which I really should get to by the way. I haven't been able to read at all or write very much because SCHOOL and other bad stuff, so apologies again for the late update. But, it is a little longer, so I hope the length makes up for the lateness.  
Luckily, I have been able to watch stuff, so I've been watching this great series called Fringe. It's a J.J. Abrams show and the one that was done right after LOST had finished. It is AMAZING and 10/10 would recommend if you like freaky sci-fy that plays with your mind. It's got great characters and a great story line, but it **is** disturbing, so... WARNING. There.  
Well, Uther kind of stays an asshole in this one, but I'm sorry if I made Gwen or Arthur or Merlin OOC! It was not my intention.  
I gotta go soon, so I'm sorry if this authors note is too short! I promise to do better in the future (when I have time)!  
_

_Review Replies:  
HollyDawn- *kneels and bows to you* I thank you very much for the twizzlers, you amazing person! Your kind words made me fangirl at night when I was supposed to sleeping. Luckily, no one heard. YOU ARE FANTASTIC! *hugs*  
xAPRAx- Thank you! I really appreciate your enthusiasm!  
mersan123- Thank you so much for your review again! I love you so much! About Mordred... yeah, I kinda haven't really written him yet because this took me long enough to write without going on. I hope that Arthur being not exactly a total prat is okay with you because I thought his mom would straighten him out and put his morals on track a little better than his father.  
Linorien- It's fine! I'm always pretty spur of the moment. Let's be spur of the moment buddies!  
_

_Thank you for reading and reviewing!  
See ya next time!  
_

_REM_

_PS: Forgot to tell you what the Welsh supposedly means (Google Translated)- Fix this injured boy_


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